


Unanticipated Falling

by MissFreeFall



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Smut, everything really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 10:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6980614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissFreeFall/pseuds/MissFreeFall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Without their son, Emma and Regina are both slowly falling apart. Leaning on each other for support, they struggle to make sense of what has happened. All the while, never giving up on Henry. There'll be angst. But there'll also be smut. And some fluff. Read at your own risk. I'll add any necessary warnings as I go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unanticipated Falling

“No!” Regina’s cracked, sleep-laden voice echoed between the open doorways of the empty house. She followed the sound into an upright position and then further still as her momentum caused her to crash her face into her raised knee with a sickening thud. It was the pain that shocked her awake.

 

For a moment, her only reality was blind panic. She didn’t know who she was, she didn’t know where she was, she didn’t know what day it was, or what year it was. She knew one thing. She couldn’t find her son. And the pain of it was immense, inferior only to the fear. 

 

She swung her arms around in the dark, reaching for small arms but not finding anything in the empty space. 

 

“Henry!” She screamed, as she leapt from the bed and ran towards her bedroom door.

 

It was only when she felt the cold wooden floor boards of the hallway on the bottoms of her feet, that her mind oriented her. She was at home, the mayoral mansion home, not her castle in the Enchanted Forest, nor her childhood home. It was Friday. The thirtieth day without him. The third day back in Storybrooke. She was alone in the house and searching for him here was pointless. 

 

Her eyes were heavy, despite the fact that she had probably slept more this night than she had at all since she lost him. It had taken over a month but the exhaustion had finally dragged her into almost a full night of sleep. Almost, anyway, the sun wasn’t up yet, the house still shrouded in darkness, but Regina could hear birds, which meant it was closer to morning than the middle of the night.

 

Something wet landed on her foot. She wiped it with the heel of the other, only to feel another drop land on that foot. Frowning, she made her way to the bathroom, outstretched arms her only navigation in the dark.

 

The bathroom light was harsh and she blinked and squinted at her feet, eventually raising one and placing it on the side of the bath to get a better look. Once the glowing gold circle in her vision faded, the spots of deep red became clear. She was bleeding. The moment she realised what had happened, the pain came rushing back. Her nose was hot and throbbing.

 

One look in the mirror confirmed her it, she must have hit her nose incredibly hard. Before she could do anything to treat it, however, a loud knock from downstairs startled her. Her ears perked up and she quickly climbed on the toilet seat to glance out the small bathroom window. She grumbled at what she saw. The sheriff’s car parked right outside. 

 

Wiping her nose with the sleeve of her silk pajamas, she stomped downstairs towards the door. Sure enough, the figure blurred in the glass was about the same size and colour of Emma Swan, a red torso with a blonde blob on top.

 

“I don’t let people in at ungodly hours. That’s how I avoid the creeps and the idiots.”

 

“Just open the door, Gina,” Emma called from the other side, hand rattling on the door knocker still. “It’s cold.”

 

“Well, it’s December, Miss Swan, and also about four in the morning, what did you expect?”

 

“Gina-”

 

“Maybe you should try sleeping during the nighttime. You’ll be a lot warmer doing your pointless wandering around during the day, instead. You might irritate less people that way, too.”

 

“You and I both know that neither of us sleeps anymore. Now open the damn door before I climb in through a window.”

 

With a loud sigh, for Emma’s benefit, Regina reluctantly unlocked the door and stepped back as Emma barged through the moment she heard it click open.

 

“What do you want?” Regina asked, voice heavy with exhaustion.

 

“What the fuck happened to your face?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

“Gina, you’re covered in blood. If you think I’ll let this slide, you don’t know me at all. Who’s here?” Emma asked, looking towards the staircase, jaw clenched as it always was when she was being stubborn. 

 

Regina rolled her eyes and relented, “I did it myself, okay? Nothing to worry about. No one attacked me while I was sleeping.”

 

Emma looked confused and said nothing for a moment, seemingly waiting for her inner-lie-detector to go off. When it didn’t, she asked again, “There’s really no one here?”

 

“No! You think I’m having one night stands, now?”

 

“I thought maybe someone broke in.”

 

“Well, they didn’t. I’m not in any danger. So hurry home.”

 

“I heard you shouting at someone.”

 

Regina froze as she realised her nightmare hadn’t been as short-lived as she’d believed.

 

Emma read the expression on her face perfectly, “A night terror?”

 

“They do seem to have become a common occurrence.”

 

“For me, too.”

 

Regina looked at her for a moment, trying to gauge whether she was being truthful or just trying to make her feel better.

 

“Really,” Emma said, when she saw the skeptical look in Regina’s eyes. “Ever since that first night. They haven’t stopped.”

 

“I got up so quickly that I kneed myself in the face.” 

 

Regina said it solemnly, a wearisome expression on her face and eyes already glistening with tears. But the moment the words were out of her lips, Emma snorted. Loudly. And then proceeded to laugh so hard that she had to grab ahold of her stomach. 

 

“Miss Swan!” Regina snapped.

 

“I-I’m-” She paused to laugh some more, “I’m sorry. I just- You kneed yourself? In the face?”

 

“I would like to ask you to leave now,” Regina stated, reaching for the door handle and opening it to the cold night air. When Emma made no move to exit, the brunette shoved her.

 

“Gina, wait! I’m sorry!” Emma said, side-stepping the next shove and pushing on the door, against Regina’s hold on it. “You have to admit, that’s kind of funny.”

 

“Well, I’m glad that somebody is finding my misery amusing. To think I almost opened up to you-”

 

“Wait, really, I’m sorry. You can tell me anything. You know that. But sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves, okay? Otherwise we lose our minds.”

 

“I’m starting to believe my mind is already lost.”

 

“You’re not the only one,” Emma said with sincerity. “How about some coffee?”


End file.
